Let me preface this by saying that this review is not in of itself indicative of what others may…read moreexperience since there are so many factors that come into play. The tour guides are perhaps the biggest factor that is in control by the company. The wildlife viewing and glacier kayaking experience is also dependent on how lucky nature views you. This of course is not this fault of the company, but may impact experience. With that long statement out of the way, let's talk about what happened during my excursion. To start, they go over the typical safety protocols to mitigate chances of issues that would occur. Then you embark on a roughly two hour ride to the kayaking destination. From there, you kayak about 4 miles to the glacier. It's just beautiful to enjoy the Alaskan waterfalls and viewpoints before arriving at the glacier. But once there, you're hit with the majestic beauty of the glacier. Due to safety reasons, we paddle until about 1 mile from the glacier, but it's big enough to be seen from a good ways away. If you're lucky you can see some ice calving. Then you enjoy some lunch from a spot near the glacier before embarking home. Along the way there and way back. The group was also fortunate to see some amazing wildlife! From porpoises to orcas, to whales, it was just a stroke of good luck! If you're in Seward, heck even Alaska, it is definitely worth taking this kayaking tour!

Zeke and hunter were the amazing guides who were very knowledgeable of the surrounding wildlife. It…read morewas rejuvenating to be out on the water with a great group of people. I highly recommend trying it out, even if you're new to kayaking. They were very prepared, and we felt safe, on top of fact that the kayaks were really hard to flip. I'm not saying you should flip (since it WILL end the tour), BUT if you do end up capsizing, your guide will have to do a shoey at the end of the season... just saying.

First time kayaker. Zach was a great guide, patient, cheerful, and safet conscious. He gauged the…read moretour based on our experience. The bay was flat and easy to navigate. Everyone can do this, It's a beautiful morning on the water. We saw otters and a seal.

What an awesome glacier experience! We started the day off early, at 7 AM. We took a 2 hour 30…read moreminute water taxi to a beach near Aialik glacier. The ride had beautiful scenery, while we saw puffins, sea otters, and different kinds of seals. We even saw a whale from afar. Our guide, Abby was super kind, and we learned all about the local fauna. Definitely recommend this tour.

Definitely don't recommend. My husband died unexpectedly. I provided them with the death…read morecertificate and they refused to refund me.

We had an amazing time kayaking Resurrection Bay and staying in a yurt for the first time. It…read morecomes well equipped with everything you could ever need. We were able to cook, sleep comfortably, and have a hot shower. The owners were so welcoming and I was truly impressed. We didn't see any seals this time but we will definitely be back.

Used Adventure Sixty North to rent hiking poles and bear spray for our hike to the Harding…read moreIcefield. Super easy to rent and return, and they're reasonably priced. Located right on the road to the icefield, so it's wasn't even out of our way to stop by - and nice when we were exhausted to not have to make an extra detour. Overall, great rental experience. Definitely recommend.

We used them multiple times during our stay. They went out of our way to help us by going above and…read morebeyond. For Nisha, Paz to Shantanum, all very accommodating and knowledgeable. Even telling us stories on rides.

We had such a wonderful day out exploring the glaciers and wildlife of Kenai Fjords National Park…read more We came pretty late in the season, but they were still offering their full day National Park cruise. As can be the case in the later season, it was raining nearly the entire time we were on the cruise. But we had come prepared with rain gear, and while it would've been nice if it had been more sunny and less foggy, we still had an incredible time. We got to see some glaciers, including the Harding Icefield - which was pretty cool since we hiked up to it the following day from another direction. So much wildlife to see - orcas, puffins, seals, bald eagles... Even though the weather wasn't the best, we still had great animal sightings. All the staff were so incredibly kind and friendly. The tour included lunch. Felt like the lunch was the weakest link of the tour - food could've been a bit better - but all things considered, I wasn't going on the cruise for the food. Towards the end of the cruise, they were able to get some of the glacier ice into the boat and had glacier ice margaritas for sale. Really good price - I believe they were $7 each. The margarita was good, but the ice was incredible. Overall, it was a fantastic experience exploring this portion of the national park. Would highly recommend!

Major Marine Tours is fantastic, I have gone out with them on two separate occasions now and what…read moremakes the biggest difference for me is the staff. The staff are the creme de la creme, they really seem to care about their guests and are knowledgeable to boot! The Captain takes us all over the place, but specifically will seek out things if you ask them to, which really gives the tours a personalized and special feeling. I also have an immense amount of respect for the crew of Major Marine Tours in how they show their respect for the wildlife.

What an incredible experience. We stayed for 2 nights in July and wished we had booked a longer…read morestay. Remote, peaceful, immersed in nature, this is hands down one of our favorite spots in all our travels. During the boat ride to the property we got lucky and saw a couple of orcas! Upon arriving we were in awe of the property, the views, and the amenities. We went fishing, cooked fresh salmon on the grill, hung out in the shared space and met other guests, and enjoyed the sound of rain on the yurt roof. I literally had the best night of sleep in my adult life in that yurt! So so cozy. There were river otters that came by each day, which was an added bonus. We will definitely return to take advantage of the surroundings more!

It is difficult to imagine a better place to stay in Alaska. We loved these yurts. We were…read moregreeted time and time again by excellent staff from the boat taxi at check in all the way to check out. We had a memorable stay here at Orca Island. We were given the Oyster Catcher yurt which had a nice combo of a view of the inner cove and the outter bay. Our yurt was in excellent condition with great amenities. We did shopping in Seward before the trip as recommended by the hosts and had all we needed to prepare great meals at the yurt. We used the kayaks to stumble across salmon spawning near the cabins. The spawning was one of the most beautiful scenes I've ever watched. Thousands of salmon making their way upstream in all different stages of life. Incredible. The kayaks were in great condition and we appreciated being taught how to use the kayak skirts because we come from warm water area where skirts aren't used. I recommend bringing water shoes if you plan to kayak as ours came in really handy when getting off the kayaks at the nearby waterfall. If you plan to fish, I'd recommend bringing your own tackle. We weren't having much luck with what was rigged up but we also didn't fish for that long. Still would have been nice to have our own lures to use because their lures seemed too big for the fish in the cove. Tons of fish, not a single bite. I don't think the hosts are that big on fishing. Always good to do your own research if you wanna catch something. During our stay we saw a ton of jelly fish, bald eagles, thousands of salmon, otters, sea lions, puffins, and more birds I couldn't identify. Incredible experience. We loved the art gallery and communal coffee spot. Wish we bought some orca island gear while we were there but forgot to stop back in the shop before departing. Stay here!! Don't bat an eye at the price. It is worth it.

I booked a private 4 hour whale watching trip with Captain Louis for my husband and I and our two…read more18 year old grandkids. He was very prompt in returning emails and arranging time for our viewing. Captain Louis was flexible with his time. His pricing is reasonable. Our morning out was fantastic. He had done some homework and had a plan for our trip. It was fantastic! We saw some orcas. The most fun was finding a large group of feeding humpbacks. I am sure Capt. Louis and I could of stayed out all day! His boat was well maintained and he was expert with his navigating. Thank you again!!

I would highly recommend booking Captain Louis. My husband and I booked Seward Water Taxi for a…read morecustom trip in July 2020. Captain Louis perfectly tailored our trip to our interests and available time. Bear Glacier was a highlight of our trip with Captain Louis. This was one of the most special things I've seen in my life. If you are in Seward, you need to see Bear Glacier and very few operators go there. Bear Glacier completely blew our minds. I know decades from now, I will still think about that time my husband and I went to Bear Glacier. Captain Louis also took us to see various wildlife: birds of all kinds, a humpback whale, otters, seals, and sea lions. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the animals and the area. Captain Louis brought us to spots that the big tour companies don't go, which I really appreciated.

Our stay at Resurrection Lodge on the Bay in Seward, Alaska, was wonderful! We stayed at four…read moredifferent places over the course of our trip, and this lodge was the most wonderful! The view of Resurrection Bay, and the peaceful porch with chairs, heat lamps, and blankets was incredible! We saw such beautiful wildlife while sitting on the porch and walking on the beach, including Sea Otters, Harbor Seals, American Crows, Black-billed Magpies, Surf Scoters, Harlequin Ducks, Glaucous-winged Gulls, Bald Eagles (nesting nearby) and other beautiful birds. Our rooms were small, but the lodge does offer larger rooms too (book early); our rooms were beautiful, comfortable, clean, and cozy. The owners and the kitchen staff are warm, friendly, kind, and helpful. Breakfast each morning was lovely! We will definitely stay here again! We highly recommend this lodge!

This was a great stay in Seward! The owner is very friendly we talked to him for a good 15 min…read moreabout wildlife, fishing, hikes, and his personal life. Our room was overlooking the water which was so beautiful. From our room we could see fish, sea otters, seals, plenty of birds and boats passing by. We slept with the window open to hear the waves. The beds are very comfy and soft, I didn't want to leave the bed. They have complimentary breakfast and for the rest of the evening they have cookies, brownies and refreshments available for you in the kitchen. The viewing deck overlooks the mountains and water. You can walk down the beach to see even more. If I come back to seward I am picking this place to stay. For the other reviews saying the rooms are small and the road is a little rough, this lodge is in Seward Alaska, which is a remote place. We would travel a bumpy road again and again to stay in this place and the rooms were perfect. The service is superior compared to other places to stay in Seward. Saying this, sorry other people this is not a big city hotel. This is a small town with southern hospitality and it's amazing!

To be clear, I'm reviewing the company not bear glacier and the kayaking. That was breathtaking…read more But the company sucked. And it's funny because the other review on them I just saw complained about the owner and many people in my 20 person group also had issues with him. But the tour which cost $430 per person was lackluster. The owner had terrible customer manners. Good was supposed to be provided, but we got trail mix. The guides were nice but my guide only took us to .5 miles from the glacier and we could barely see the seals which is a total disappointment. The other guide took them within 100' of the glacier and seals were all around. Such a bummer because the day was awesome, but the tour company left me with a bad taste. Definitely go there and kayak, just find a different tour company.

in June 2012 we travelled in Alaska - kayaking (with Ron) and bear watching (with another company)…read more- our trip was organized in advance by Ron who "runs" www.backcountrysafaris.com My husband and I have extensively travelled (India, Nepal, Africa, Pacific, Australia, NZ, Europe, North and South America) and live abroad since 12 years. We never had to write any review about our traveling that involved trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting organized by local or non local outdoor agencies. Our kayaking experience with Ron at his camp located in Bear Glacier State Park had to be "shared" so people will know what to expect from him: - no sense of welcoming when we met him in Seward - no warning that access to his camp depends on weather condition and TIDES (therefore trip can be cancelled or rescheduled) - camp had just been put together due late snow on camp but tools/gear/equipment was spread everywhere around camp - little respect for the environment: NO portable toilet or form of toilet and put "grass" on fire when he started a charcoal bbq without digging a hole in the ground (assuming that it was humid enough since snow was present until a fe days ago) - Trash left around with black and coastal bears present in the area - cots in Weather ports were not put together (which is fine with us) but he would leave us put them together (since it was complicated :)) and another person had to beg to get his one put together - Unsocial: Ron's subject of conversation were focused on his own life - not even interested about others interests and conversations - Not Respectful of his clients - he made very comments regarding one of the clients just before we jumped on the boat back to Seward - client's space: on last night I had to ask him to speak away from our tent so we would not hear his late ongoing loud satellite conversation(s) - NO form of daily schedule at camp - and when one was vaguely mentioned it was not followed which made us wait or did not know how to organize our time in between waiting or kayaking - Food: Ron looks very unhealthy and cook/prepare unhealthy food - (for 1st breakfast - nothing was available at 9:30am so the 5 of us (1 couple/ 1 single) started to help ourselves which made him unhappy! - 2nd and last breakfast was only ready by 10:00am. Diner by 10:00pm if lucky) - Ron did not give us the impression to have ideas about distances + time related to the speed of kayak boats (single and double) - 2 out 5 persons had specifically asked for single kayaks - but only 1 person had it - the 2nd person had to kayak in a double & in order to get the "missing" single kayak a whole morning had to be spent pulling it from dropping place - since we were running late to paddle around the island where camp is located we carried Ron's single kayak to "help" him as he was busy pulling the single - no appreciation of any sort were expressed from him (not that we help others to get that but you would guess it is part of being an outdoor guide and a human being) - Unorganized: he did not give us details of how we would get to our following activity, Bear watching (not run by him!) - we had to find out that after 1 taxi + 2 shuttles rides, a lunch somewhere + a flight that we would then arrive at bear camp - but until we figured it out we felt unrelaxed. only because we did not trust him anymore after the camp experience we had.